


Illyan's Daughters

by ana



Series: Women of Barrayar [2]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Barrayaran Embassy, Cake, Childhood Trauma, Earth, Fate & Destiny, Father-Daughter Relationship, ImpSec, Men Being Awesome, Recruitment, Stunners, Therapy Gone Bad, Training, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 23:23:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4240605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ana/pseuds/ana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"...They called us Illyan's Daughters, but that name came later as our numbers grew. Some called us the 'damaged' daughters but we weren't damaged; granted most of us were bruised by life but those bruises were part of what we were but not the sole reason of what we became. Illyan gave us a chance that's all I know and our loyalty would always be to him first. Always.</p><p>This is a story of one of those daughters..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ollipop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ollipop/gifts).



**London, Earth**

The warehouse was destroyed. There were barriers up when she turned the corner. Someone had torched it, so the police said.  Eve walked away like she didn’t know anything, her stomach a ball of ice.  Her trainer had done it. It _had_ to be him. Their only meeting place gone. He’d been acting oddly ever since he’d returned. Ever since she’d told him she was singing at the Barrayaran Embassy. He’d asked about the layout, blind spots and she’d instinctively lied; said she wasn’t sure and that she’d check again.  He’d said it was for training purposes but it felt _wrong_.  Just like when he’d suggested weapons training – twice.  She hadn’t told her father about that and she was beginning to think she should have but it hurt.  She couldn’t deny it. It hurt to have doubts about the man who had helped her heal.  She wanted to be wrong. She thought about the Embassy and the people she’d gotten to know there and knew what she had to do.

*******

**ImpSec HQ, London, Earth**

After watching both interviews, Illyan leaned back in his chair and read Vorner’s accompanying report. Then he flipped back to the summary and background check, switching the details to the subject’s – to Eve’s – age rather than dates. For Illyan this was always more telling, as was what Vorner chose to highlight and what he chose to omit. While he read, Illyan could hear Eve’s own words from the interviews, adding the context that Vorner had stripped out.   

 **Subject:** Eve Penelope Vellis Sorrentti

 **Planet of Birth:** Barrayar

 **Current Age:** 18 Earth Standard  
**  
Mother:** Rosa Vellis deceased. Maternal death.

 **Father (Biological):** [pending]

**0-10 Years:**

Subject raised by maternal aunt Esther Vellis in various locations in the Caravanserai area [no current location]  
  
**10 years** :

  *          Subject adopted by Marcus Sorrentti [Owner/Manager of The Troll Club nightclub, London, Earth - background pending]. 



 

_He said he came back to Barrayar for my mother and found me instead. I don’t know how he found us. He said that wasn’t important. I’m not his blood daughter but he said that wasn’t important either. He bought my aunt off, and said I’d never see her again. We don’t talk about it._

  *          Subject taken to Earth.



 

**12 years:**

  *          Subject volunteers for C1 level therapy programme on Beta Colony. Ten children in programme. 



 

_I saw the promo and begged my father to take me there. It was a famous programme to teach children confidence and stuff like that. They all looked so perfect in the vids, I wanted to be that way. I begged him to take me there. I begged to go._

  *          Betan subject evaluation negative for C2+ level behaviour.
  *          Day 5 of programme: Senior Cognitive Therapist Prof Lucinda Beauchamp has C6 level breakdown.
  *          Beauchamp administers illegal [Betan standard] combinations of truth serums and hallucinogens to all children. Beauchamp acting alone.
  *          Beauchamp records all activity.
  *          Day 19 of programme: seven children dead.
  *          Subject is one of three survivors.
  *          All families receive undisclosed compensation pay outs [Betan $20-30m – exact figure pending]



Media comms listed under ‘Betan Ten’

 

_My trainer was the only person who never asked me about my past. He said everything was present not past and not personal; that’s why it was important to never use names. I don’t know his name and he never once used mine…No it didn’t make me suspicious. I thought it was part of how he trained people and it worked. We never talked about our personal lives. It was a relief._

  *  Subject not questioned about the ‘Betan Ten’ period.  This is not pertinent to the current investigation. Further questions can be asked in future interviews. Subject excessively agitated when ‘Betan Ten’ is mentioned. Restraints may be required for questioning for this time period.  



  **  
12-13 years:**

  *          Subject returns to Earth, voluntarily confines herself to The Troll Club premises [subject’s current home]. Subject agoraphobic.
  *          Reports of subject causing extensive vandalism to premises. No charges filed.
  *          No medical reports [pending]



_I was a horrible, horrible violent bitch. I took it all out on my father. I was cruel. I blamed him for taking me to Beta Colony. I was…I am ashamed of the things I said to him and did to him and the damage I caused to the club, but he never kicked me out. I couldn’t leave the building and I refused all help. If my trainer hadn’t come along I’m sure I would be dead._

**13 years -16 years:**

  *          ‘Trainer’ approaches Marcus Sorrentti at The Troll Club after witnessing Subject’s public breakdown and vandalisation of premises.
  *          Trainer claims his training will give subject skills to leave the premises and live normally.



_Combat skills. That’s what made me agree. He said he would teach me to fight. So I agreed to one session on the premises with my father there. Four hours of pad work and for the first time hours went by where I was always in the moment. There was no past. I was worn out but felt strong. In control._

  *          Cash payments given to Trainer by Marcus Sorrentti for each session. (Betan$400 per session) 
  *          ‘Trainer’ only name used at his insistence. Trainer refers to subject as ‘cadet’. No names used during ‘training’.
  *          Subject and Marcus Sorrentti claim ‘Trainer’ never disclosed identity.
  *          Subject trains at The Troll Club for 32 weeks observed by Marcus Sorrentti for initial 12 sessions.
  *          Week 33: training moves to warehouse in Angel district and locations around Barrayaran Embassy. 



 

_I told my trainer I knew the therapist would find me. It was the reason I couldn’t sleep. The reason I couldn’t leave the club. The therapist said we weren’t finished and she’d make us whole. She said that in her testimony too. That she’d find us to make us whole. They kept telling me that the Betans would never release her but I don’t trust them. They’ll think they’ve therapised her well, they’ll give her a new face and identity and she’ll find me. They’ve done it before with murderers I’ve heard.  I told my trainer and he agreed with me. He believed me when my father didn’t – my father kept telling me I was safe. I knew I wasn’t safe and my trainer told me he would train me to keep myself safe. That I wouldn’t have to rely on anyone but myself. He’d give me skills in self-defence; he’d give me skills so that I could sleep, he’d give me skills in observation and surveillance so that no matter where I would be I would always find an exit and so that whenever the therapist found me I could escape. There would always be a way out._

 

  *          **Training**
  *          Trainer not always present for training. Absent times listed.
  *          Leaves training vids and comms tech. No link to Trainers identity recovered from items [pending]
  *          Training: Positive for field training components - attached.
  *          Negative for armed combat.
  *          Training defined as ‘therapy’ by Marcus Sorrentti
  *          Training defined as ‘survival skills’ by Subject.



 

_The training room was just a punchbag and a comconsole for the training programs.   After a few weeks I could sleep more than two hours.  The first time I could leave the club without that terror was... I can’t explain it. I could eat out. I could walk outside. I could see all the exits. He taught me what he said he would – skills to make myself safe. I had control. I have control.  Even two years ago I couldn’t have come here to you but I did. I knew you would use fastpenta but here I am. I’m in control._

 

 **17** **years:**

  *          Subject auditions at Barrayaran Embassy for entertainment rota. Subject hired.   



 

_I’ve been singing since I was a child. My mother was a singing waitress so I guess I inherited it. I sang to earn money when I was a child. I never thought of auditioning at the embassy until I made friends with the Vorlessi sisters. I didn't think the social committee would hire me because they kept talking about pedigree - good genes, good blood...but the Ambassador and his wife liked my singing. Now I do it for pleasure. People seem to like it although some people don't think I belong there.  Yes, my trainer encouraged my singing. He said it was a skill and all skills should be honed but he never liked to hear me sing so I didn’t in front of him._

 

**18 years**

  *          Trainer returns after 10 month absence.
  *          Trainer suggests weapon training. Subject refuses. Trainer requests subject to locate ‘security layout and blind spots’ at Embassy. 



 

_I’ve never seen him that way. It was only in flashes but they’d never happened before, but there was emotion, an anxiety in him, about the Embassy layout, about training me in weapons. No, I told you. He never mentioned any names. Just said it would teach me more skills but he knew how I felt about weapons. I don’t need them or want them. He wasn’t himself. Perhaps he was just ill. Maybe that’s it? But he’d always told me to trust my instincts and my instincts were not to tell him._

 

  *          Subject does not report details to Trainer.
  *          Blind spots are positive – security refit and retraining of Embassy personnel in place.
  *          Potential target list attached.  
  *          Subject discloses information to Commodore Callas. Subject and father brought in for interviews.
  *          Training warehouse decimated by chemical fire. No DNA.



_Commodore Callas is always nice to me that’s the only reason I spoke to him. He reminded me of the nicest ImpSec officer I ever met. He was called Tomas. I was probably 8 years old. He gave me a slice of chocolate cake he had in a blue box, and a ration bar. I thought they were both the best things I’d ever tasted. I met him three times and one time he came with a woman who tried to find out who looked after me. I never told but someone saw us and told my aunt.  She didn’t believe me when I said I hadn’t told them anything about her. She accused me of having sex with the officer and she cut all my hair off and cut my back with the scissors. But she never found out that I'_ _d hidden that ration bar.  I still have the wrapper._

 

 

Commodore Vorner, seated on the opposite side of his own desk, acknowledged the message on his wristcom.  He cleared his throat.

“Medical have confirmed that we can wake her and proceed with the next interview.”

Vorner tried to keep the urgency out of his voice.  He was surprised the girl has recovered so rapidly. They’d sedated her immediately after her second revival to make sure there were no complications but she hadn't needed it. He should have taken more blood samples. There was something quite peculiar about her rapid recovery but be doubted Illyan would allow him to examine her further.  He didn’t want to share this operation although he knew he now had no choice. If the chief had arrived last week, as scheduled, he would have left by now and Vorner would have had her to himself. Now Illyan would probably take the girl off him and give her to someone higher up.  Illyan had already made changes by having her moved to a more comfortable room; Vorner disagreed with the tactic. His own interviews methods had always brought results.

Illyan raised his eyes and surveyed Vorner with the blandest look sending trickles of sweat down Vorner’s back.

“There will be no third interview, Vorner.”

“Sir?”

“I believe I’ve made myself clear.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Vorner said.

“Oh?” The casual way Illyan asked should have been warning enough but Vorner was incredulous.

“With all due respect, sir, this is the first break we’ve had in years. This girl was trained by The Ghost I’m sure of it.  She’s our only lead in to where he could be. I’ve not yet discovered her real agenda.”

 “She came to us voluntarily, Vorner.”

“Yes. We’ve not ascertained the real reason why – her true agenda.”

Illyan disagreed. He kept playing it back in his head. Her answer to why she came to them.

_Because you’re ImpSec. You help people. You’re supposed to keep people safe. My Trainer always felt safe. Made me feel safe. But not now. You are questioning me about him so this means I was right. I don’t want to be right. He helped me but he’s not safe is he? I can tell. That’s why I’m here. But you’ll find him. That’s what you do right? You’ll make it all alright. I don’t want him to hurt anyone._

The earnestness in her voice. The clarity of her belief.

_You’ll make it all alright._

This girl had no agenda, not the kind Vorner was looking for. Illyan’s instincts were rarely this sure of anyone’s innocence, not that he would take chances, but there were other ways to deal with this girl.  Illyan could see Vorner’s true agenda clearly and he knew he had to cut him off.

Eve’s ‘Trainer’ Captain Vorlester AKA The Ghost was an obsession of Vorner’s. An obsession Illyan had already had to have words with him about. Vorner was one of the best but his reliance on fastpenta and nothing else concerned Illyan, as did his unhealthy obsession with catching Vorlester at all costs.

“You think a third interview will reveal her true agenda?” Illyan asked. “Tell me, Vorner, what questions will you ask her that you haven’t already asked, repeatedly, in both interviews?”

Vorner felt the heat rise in his face. “My methods works, sir.  _She’s_ been groomed by him so he must have taught her to withstand fastpenta.  We have to keep at her.  He fooled our own agents.”

“He _killed_ our own agents – murdered his own.  We never got close enough to fastpenta him.  Unless you have intel I don’t?”

“No but that doesn’t mean – “

“The speculation about his immunity to fastpenta has no basis in fact.  I’m surprised you would believe the ridiculous myths that have been attached to him.” Before Vorner could say anything he’d regret, Illyan added, “I believe you’re right. Vorlester was grooming her until he had use of her, but he got sloppy. He’s made mistakes before – we’ve just never been there to catch them,” he added bitterly. “Both your interviews show she became suspicious before he could use her.  She knows nothing of who the target was, if there was an imminent one.” Illyan was quite aware he could have been the target.  “Your questioning on this has been exhaustive.”

“Thank you, sir but –”

“And there is no indication at all that the fastpenta _hasn’t_ worked. So what is your logic for pursuing a third interview with these same questions?”

“They may yield different answers,” Vorner lamely replied and then added. “I believe there is no wastage in pursing this.”

 _Wastage?_   Vorner had ceased looking at this girl as a human being.

“For how long?” Illyan asked. “Indefinitely? She’s died twice, Vorner.  Less than thirteen minutes into each interview her heart stopped.”

Illyan thought it was a miracle the girl only believed she’d fainted but her answers in the second interview showed her upset and how agitated she’d become. She kept reminding herself – out loud – that she wasn’t on Beta Colony and that this interview was her choice. A third interview Illyan knew would break her but not in the way Vorner thought.

“She has been revived twice successfully,” Vorner insisted.  “She may yet slip and give us further insight.” Vorner looked lllyan in the eye.  “Last time his target was Lady Alys and her son.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Illyan clenched his fist under the desk but kept his features unruffled.    “Nor have I forgotten the damaged boy that Vorlester trained and brainwashed to do his bidding.” Nor the messy suicide after.

“We were lucky to stop him that time. We can’t let that happen again.”

“Are you suggesting I would do otherwise?”

Vorner swallowed hard. “Of course not, but The Ghost -”

 “Stop calling him that.  It gives him a mystique he doesn’t deserve. That was his codename. He is not ImpSec anymore.  Call the butcher and traitor by his real name.”

Illyan had hoped the bastard was dead. He’d kept up the investigation but they had had no intel he’d come as far as Earth to recruit. Not even a whisper. The fact that this rogue ex-ImpSec agent was still pursuing his own twisted agenda by recruiting damaged young men and women to do his bidding was going to stretch manpower that was already stretched.

“Did you talk to her?” Illyan asked.

“Sir? The interviews -”

“No. Did you have a conversation with her without the fastpenta – did you talk to her, Vorner?”

“No. I didn’t want to waste valuable time.”

There was a long pause before Illyan responded.  “I see. What did you tell her father?”

“That she needed to rest between interviews. He is haranguing the embassy about seeing her. We’ve told him she’s assisting in an investigation. We don’t need to concern ourselves with him.”

Illyan didn’t even bother to ask what methods Vorner had in mind to silence the father. Right then and there Illyan signed Vorner up for a transfer and retraining. He would deal with this girl himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Illyan could almost imagine he was back on Barrayar. This room was furnished, like most of the rooms in the embassy in this wing, with plush sofas, ornate chairs, shelves of books and a few dust catchers scattered about.  All the rooms had a distinctive colour scheme; this one was in various shades of gold and cream.  It reminded Illyan of one of Lady Alys’s parlours, which – whether he wanted to or not – he could picture in detail and the Lady herself.   He was amused at this train of thought and even more amused when he looked at the 6 foot 4 man seated opposite him; his muscles straining against his black t-shirt, the light shining off his large bald tattooed  head – an anachronism in a room like this, bringing Illyan literally back to Earth.

“You’ll get them back,” Illyan said again and sipped his coffee.

This wasn’t said to the man – Marcus Sorrentti; it was said to his daughter Eve who was seated beside him. Over a foot shorter than her father, Eve wasn’t just dwarfed by her father’s height and bulk, but her small face was also swallowed up by her mass of brown wavy hair that exploded out and down to the sofa. It all made her appear fragile and harmless, and Illyan recalling what he’d just witnessed in the last hour knew she was anything but that.

“When will I get them back?” Eve asked. The first thing that the officers had done on entering the room was to ask Eve for her boots. She knew they would after what she’d done but still, her feet were cold.  She clutched the coffee cup that she was holding on to for warmth as she hated drinking the stuff.  They’d upped the heating in the room but she didn’t feel it.  Eve looked down at her boot-less feet.   “It seems to me that me and my Da are the only one who’ve been cooperative around here.”

Illyan looked at the ceiling and back to Eve and her grin. “That was to prove a point,” she said.

“And what do you think the Ambassador is going to say about that point? You caused an embassy wide panic,” Illyan exaggerated.

A flash of guilt crossed her face but she scowled. “No.” She shook her head.  “You can’t put this on me. This is all your ImpSec’s fault…are you – are you _really_ the Chief of ImpSec? You’re really Captain Simon Illyan?”

“Yes, Eve, and what was your point?”

“I would think that was quite obvious.” Eve said. “To show you that I could have done it anytime I liked.”

 

**One hour earlier**

Eve woke with a jolt into her father’s strong grip.  “Penelope, it’s me.” Her father’s clipped tones, and him using her middle name, was like a light switching on. Only her father called her Penelope.  He held her wrists tight, holding his body back as much as possible from her flying punches.

“Oh – Da.” Eve always awoke on alert but not always in fighting stance. She caught his comforting scent of mint cologne. He let go of her wrists and hugged her hard.

“You’re on Earth,” Marcus said firmly, stroking her tangled hair. “You’re not in the clinic. The Therapist is still in prison. You’re with me at the Embassy. London. Count to ten, honey. Count to ten.”

“They kept asking me the same questions. It didn’t make any sense to keep asking me the same questions!”

“Not yet.  To ten. Remember. You’re here with me. I won’t leave here without you. Start again. Say it. Start again…”

“Count to ten,” Eve finished.  She closed her eyes, drank his scent in again and opened her eyes. “Start again, count to ten. 1,” she whispered holding his warmth, slowing her rapid heartbeat instinctively, “2... 3…4.  Exits: three.  5,” she looked at the ceiling, “sensors, security vids - all corners; and one probably in the false light.”

Her father grinned, relief flooding his blue eyes. “That’s my girl.”

As she reached 10, clarity set in; she ate small pieces of the chocolate cake her father had brought her and drank the piping hot chocolate, with extra cinnamon, to keep her warm.

“They let you bring in food?” she asked licking her fingers.

“I knew you wouldn’t eat anything they gave you. What do you remember?”

She told him how she’d been interviewed twice, and they compared notes on the questions she’d been asked. All of it suggesting that her trainer was a wanted man but none of them had been told why.  Her father wasn’t kept as long as she was but looking at his anxious face she felt he’d had a worse time of it than she had. It wasn’t fair that they’d done this to him! She rubbed her chest, which smarted a little.  “I blacked out twice – during each interview; it was like a slow faint really.” She had felt herself trying to stop it and then waking up sat up in the same chair and being told she’d lost consciousness.

“Twice?” Marcus rasped. “You blacked out and they interviewed you _again?_ Those… ”

Her father let out a stream of cutting curses against them; inserting some Russian and French curses she didn’t know but sounded very rude. It cheered Eve up no end to see him invent all the kind of things he would like to do that Vorner officer.

After he’d run out of steam he told her how he’d made sure he was vocal as possible that ImpSec had his daughter so that they couldn’t do away with her. Her father was often more paranoid than she was; he also disliked ImpSec. A lot. In fact there weren’t many things about Barrayar that her father did like. (But as a Barrayaran he said he was entitled to say such things).

“I don’t remember getting here,” Eve said looking around the gold and cream room, “and there’s no way I was unconscious all that time. I don’t like losing time, Da. I don’t like it at all.” She took a deep 

breath and gripped her father’s hand.  “I think I’m taking this very well considering. Was I asleep? No I don’t remember that. I don’t remember falling asleep.”

“No, they sedated you,” he said with a bite in his tone. “Said they were concerned about your reaction to the fastpenta and they wanted to wait until you were fully recovered.”

“They had no right! Sedation? I went to them to help and they sedated me? They had no right to put drugs in me without my permission!” She took in her father’s troubled face and squeezed his hand again. “And they had no right to question you for so long either! We haven’t done anything wrong, have we, Da?”

Marcus pulled his hand away and cupped her face in both of his large hands. “Don’t you let them fuck around with you, Eve Penelope Vellis Sorrentti. Your trainer is a criminal of some kind, but that isn’t your fault. You’ve not done anything wrong and you know that.”

Eve nodded. “You’re right. You’re right.” She took a long breath. “I’m being an idiot. I know the facts. I know the facts. But Da, if my trainer was a bad person he still…I can’t –“

“You knew where the limits were,” Marcus said proudly. “You remember that. If you weren’t right, they wouldn’t have questioned you. We can be glad your trainer helped you but we can hate him for putting you through this. It’s okay to feel both things.”

“Thanks, Da.” But she didn’t hate her trainer; maybe if they gave her more information about what he’d done wrong she could hate him. She did another count to ten, mentally this time and looked around the room.

“Are we locked in?” Eve asked, lifting the empty cake box off her lap and stepping up to the door.  She wondered why they’d put them in the fancy guest wing.

“Yes. But we’re not prisoners,” he said with a sneer, “so they say.  We’re to wait until someone sees fit to comes and let us go. There’s guards outside, not seen who but between us I’m sure we could take them.”

Eve laughed. “Da! You know we can’t do that.” Although he had given her an idea…

 “I’m going to talk to them,” Eve said and seeing how geared up her father was for a fight she frowned and pointed to the sofa. “You’re to stay there okay? No matter what you hear.” She didn’t want her father losing his temper and making things worse for himself.  “I’ll yell for you if I need you.”

Marcus looked wary. “You’ll yell?”

“Promise.”

He nodded.

Eve banged on the door. “Can I talk to someone please?”

The door opened and a lanky, mousy haired corporal opened the door.

Oh shit. “Hey, Pasha.”  Why did it have to be someone she liked?

“Eve – ah – I mean Miss Sorrentti. How can I be of assistance?”

“Pasha! Come on, it’s me. Why are you being so formal? I thought I wasn’t a prisoner?”

Pasha shook his head . “No, no, you’re not.” He swallowed and peeked into the room. “Your father –“

“Asleep.   So you got stuck with this? How did the rehearsals go? Anyone miss me?” Eve was supposed to rehearsing her songs for one of the many Winterfair events at the embassy.

Pasha’s smile widened.  “Yeah of course but everyone was told you were helping ImpSec with an investigation and that they were very grateful for you and your father’s cooperation.” Pasha sounded like he was reading it from a prepared statement. “The Vorlessi sisters were asking about you a lot,” he added a touch of reverence in his tone.  Eve wasn’t sure which of her friends Pasha had a crush on but she wondered if it was because of the Vorlessis and her father that ImpSec felt that they had to say something. She could imagine her friends raising quite a ruckus on her behalf.

“Grateful, huh?” Eve asked nudging herself onto the threshold.  “So can’t you just let us go home?”

Pasha shook his head, smile gone.  His large dark eyes scanned the hall and back to Eve and he dropped his voice.  “I’m not allowed to let you out. I have to wait –“

“Until someone comes to brief us, whatever that means, yeah my da told me.”

“What’s going on?” A voice barked. Eve recognised the rasping voice of Josef Vorobert. Oh good, now here was someone she didn’t like.

“Why is she out of the room?” he asked Pasha and before Pasha could stutter a reply as he always did around Vorobert, Eve spoke up.

“I need the loo,” Eve said, _and a shower, and a change of clothes,_ “unless you want me to pee in the room? If we’re not prisoners the least you could do is escort me to the nearest loo.” 

“You’re to stay there until you’re told,” Josef said, putting his hand on her arm. Eve pulled her arm back.

“No need for that,” she said sharply. Not for the first time was she tempted to drop kick his ass down the hall although that wasn’t what it was always like unfortunately

“You used to like it,” he said with a leer, dropping his voice.

“Well yeah,” Eve admitted, mortified as ever by that reminder, “but when I got to know you and myself better I didn’t like it as much - as I told you.  I don’t know why you keep bringing it up. I guess you miss it more than I did.”

His eyes flashed. “The hell I do! Like I want to remember I had sex with some lunatic caravanserai trash.”

Eve stared at him for a moment. “Does this mean you’re not going to let me go to the loo?”

Josef shoved her into the room and closed the door. The first thing she did was hug her seething father. “Thanks for not hitting him.”

“I know you can take care of yourself but if I see that boy in my club I’m throwing him out, through a window.”

Eve grinned. “That’s great, Da, but we don’t have any windows at the club.”

“I’ll find one. I warned you about Vors, Penelope.”

“That has nothing to do with it! What about the Vorlessis? You like Elayne and Marie.”

“They are exceptions...” Marcus eyed what his daughter had in his hand and she watched his eyes widen a little. “That’s a stunner.”

“Yes, Josef gave it to me although he doesn’t know that yet. Da I need you to stay here while I do something and not ask me any questions until it’s done. They have no right to treat us like this,” Eve said, “and I’m going to make them listen.”

Seeing his brow crease, Eve stood on tip toe and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry. Trust me?”

Marcus nodded.

“Right, first things first.”

Sliding a tiny pin from her boot she pierced the stunner, disabled the ID grip and fired it into the room several times near the sensors.  Then she heard the alarms go off. Pasha banged on the door.

“Everything alright in there? Eve?”

“Yes,” Eve called out bundling up her hair and tying it up with one of the many bands she kept around her wrist. “What’s going on?” she asked trying to sound concerned and wondering if he could tell she was grinning.

“Security alert,” Pasha said shouting over the alarm. “The wing is locked down. There’s nothing to worry about.  You’re the only guests on this corridor but it’s safer you both stay in there.  I’ll find out what’s happened. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Who’s he trying to reassure?” Marcus asked and Eve smothered a laugh with her hand.

“Thanks,” Eve said loudly, knowing that the doors had all locked and he couldn’t get her out without authorisation or until alert was cleared. From the side piping from each boot she pulled out a small thin tube and attached them together. She pulled the antique lampstand from the corner of the room and moved it to the middle and with another of her bands tied the tube to the decorative scroll at the top. Looking up at the false ceiling she found the one with the rectangle of discolour and moved the lamp under and pushing it upwards pressed on the ID panel which started to smoulder and then there was a click and the panel swung down.

“Maintenance hatch?” Marcus asked. “I could have given you a boost.”

“I don’t want you involved.” And she marvelled at her father’s calm reaction because he hadn’t known she could do this.  The adrenaline was kicking in hard now, “It’s best it’s just me so I need you to stay. I’m coming back though.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. And I’ll bring you back something.”

And backing down the room she took a running jump and swung herself up into the hatch.

***

“You’re just going to let her go?” Stafford asked as they watched Eve disappear through the ceiling.

“Yes,” Illyan said, “track her movements and inform all personnel it’s a drill but to keep the guest wing locked down. I don’t want anyone going into that room without my authorisation.”

They’d been monitoring Eve since she awoke and Illyan kept reversing the security vid to see how she lifted the stunner from the corporal.  It was fascinating.

“She has a stunner,” Stafford said, after following Illyan’s order, “how can we call this a drill?”

“We’re the only ones who know what she’s done. She won’t use the stunner against anyone, I can guarantee it; she’ll return to her father and we’ll be ready. I want you to write me up a timeline of her time in our custody – omit anything sensitive. It may go some way as to reassuring her about the time she lost there. She has a preoccupation with losing time, understandably. We should never have subjected her to that second interview.”

“You didn’t, sir”

Illyan sighed a weary sigh. “Yes I did, Stafford.   What you all do has my hand on it.  No amount of training has been able to drum that salient fact into many of my staff’s terminally soft brains. Located her yet?”

“No, sir,” Stafford said, “the sensors in the roof space are patchy or –“

“She’s found a way to shut us out. Fascinating girl,” and taking in Stafford’s grimace he asked, “aren’t you curious as to what she’s going to bring back for her father?”

Stafford shook his head. “No. I’m curious about your continued interest in this odd girl,” he said, keeping his eyes on the vids as his fingers danced over the comconsole to see where Eve was going to emerge.

“I’m disappointed in you, Stafford. I thought it was obvious and this definitely clinches it. We’re going to hire her.”

Illyan took great pleasure in noting the rare stunned look on Stafford’s face and that he’d rendered him speechless for a few seconds. 

“I know we have to keep an eye on her," Stafford said, "but we don't have to go that far.  We're not responsible for her just because her trainer was ImpSec."

"That girl is a survivor. She doesn't need anyone to be responsible for her. As for our culpability in this, we'll agree to disagree," and he added with a smile,"and that your wrong."

 Stafford shook his head. "You're serious then. You’re going to hire this tiny, damaged girl?”

Illyan surveyed the vids as he watched Stafford work. “You shouldn’t judge by appearances, Stafford, some of the most interesting things in life come in tiny, damaged packages.”  

Stafford refrained from commenting to that but quite soon after, and much to their relief he finally said, “Found her. She got their fast, I’ll give her that.”

“She shouldn’t have been able to get that far in the first place. Is that-“

“The Rose Room. Yes.” Safford looked up at Illyan. “She shouldn’t have been able to exit that room.”

“Vids?”

“Negative. Only external. Family quarters. I can see her exit the room but not how she unlocked it. Not one alert was activated… How did she do it?”

Illyan looked up at the ceiling. “We’ll just have to ask her.”


	3. Chapter 3

She didn’t look surprised – that was the first thing Illyan noticed. Finding two ImpSec officers waiting with her father, when she peered into the room from the ceiling, she simply politely said, “Oh hello.”

Illyan introduced himself and Stafford, and she laughed.

“No kidding? The Chief of ImpSec? Really?”

She looked at her father for confirmation who nodded.

“Yes, are you going to come down?” Illyan asked.

Eve nimbly dropped down with a bag in her hand.  Stafford, hand on his stunner, watched her warily. “Put the bag down.”

“I was going to share,” Eve said and ignoring all but her father, she added, “they had leftovers from rehearsals, so the kitchen staff said I could have them,” she shook the bag, “your favourite, Da – madeleines.”

***

Then they asked her to remove her boots.

They’d explained to her and her father broadly about the Trainer’s method of recruiting and grooming troubled kids to do his bidding and that one recruit had taken his own life, but that’s all they would say. The ‘they’ being a pale blond officer (with no displayed rank) called Stafford and the dark haired sober looking man who said he was Captain Illyan. _The_ Illyan who with her father consumed all the madeleines

Eve didn’t know what they’d said to her father before she arrived, but when Illyan asked if she would agree to her father waiting outside – which she did because she didn’t want her father involved any more than he had to be – she was surprised when he agreed.

“I’ll be right outside. I won’t leave without you,” Marcus said, more to Illyan and Stafford than to Eve.

“Me neither,” Eve said giving him a fierce hug.

After her father left Eve asked. “When _can_ we leave?”

“When we say you can leave,” Stafford snapped.

“You’re very rude,” Eve remarked. “I don’t see why I should answer anything; manners don’t cost anything you know.” She looked at Illyan. “There’s no reason for him to be so rude. I don’t think it’s unreasonable that I want to go home.  Considering you people sedated me, without my permission, I think I’m taking this all very well.”

Illyan opened his hand out and Stafford handed him a reader.  “This will explain why we sedated you and the time you were with us.”

The look of gratitude on her face was one of those rare rewards Illyan received in his work; this would be one of those good memories – for now, the cynical part of him couldn’t help but add.

Eve was happy she got her time back but the news that her heart had slowed and stopped under fastpenta but there was no clinical reason for that to happen baffled her.

“Your father said something like this has never happened to you before.”

“It hasn’t,” Eve said, she ran a hand through her hair which was as usual messily tumbling around her like an untidy cape, “it happened for no reason?”

Illyan shook his head. “I never said that. We can only assume the fastpenta was the reason but not the cause. You could view it as you protecting yourself against truth serums, Eve, we just don’t know how you did it. You also recovered remarkably quickly.”

“Huh,” Eve said, “he said that too. My trainer – he said that I recovered quickly from my injuries. He thought I was taking something but I wasn’t. I don’t know why my body recovers so quick,” she looked Illyan in the eye. “But I don’t like drugs, they can make you lose time.”

“I understand. Considering the stress you’ve been under in your short 18 years the fact this has only just emerged suggests it’s only related to the fast penta, so the solution is to make sure we never give it to you again.”

She smiled weakly at that and Illyan signalled to Stafford.

“Why did you lie in the interviews?” Stafford asked. “How did you do it?”

Eve frowned. “What? I never did! What are you talking about?”

Stafford leaned forward holding her eyes. “You fired and disabled a stunner and yet you said you had no weapons training. Are you denying you said that?”

“Not at all,” Eve said, looking confused, “but a stunner isn’t a weapon. A weapon is something used to harm or kill someone. My trainer showed me how the stunner could be useful against things like sensors and security vids so it’s not a weapon. Like the burner pen I used on the maintenance hatch- that could be used as a weapon but I wouldn’t use it as one; are you going to take the pens away from me?”

“There would be no point if you only make more,” Stafford said

Eve sighed. “I don’t know how. I made them in the warehouse under his eye, he tried to explain to me what went into them and how it worked but well, I can’t remember - it was very boring.”

Illyan’s laugh took her by surprise and she smiled and then chewed on her lip. “Look I know what he did and everything but you don’t mind me referring to him as my trainer still do you?” she asked Illyan.  “I can’t help mentioning him.”

Illyan shook his head. “As long as it’s only to myself and Stafford you may refer to him as much as you like. It may assist us too in gathering more information about him.”

“A stunner is a weapon,” Stafford insisted.

“No it isn’t,” Eve said.

“Putting semantics aside,” Illyan said a touch drily. “What are your future plans, Eve? What is it you want to do with your life? You have all that Betan compensation you could do anything, go anywhere.”

She appeared surprised at the question and then looked down at her hands. “That money can’t buy what I want. I want, you may laugh at this, but I want a proper education. Not to buy it,” she said with a fierceness that even surprised her.  “I have enough to fund it but I’m still doing equivalency examinations. I want to eventually get into a good university - on my own merit.”

Illyan and Stafford didn’t look at her with pity or laugh at her so she carried on. “And I want to do a job that helps people. I like singing but it’s not my career. I’d like to do something that makes a difference to people in a good way. But I want to get my degree too.”

“How did you get out of the Rose Room?” Illyan asked. “How did you unlock that door?” Stafford had examined it and couldn’t see anything to indicate Eve had even been in the room.

Eve rubbed her eyes and sighed. “How long is this going to go on for? My Da isn’t going to leave without me and he should be back at the club – we’re really busy you know.”

“I know it’s been a very long day for you but it’s important for us to know, Eve, and it may be something that affects your future plans.” He gave her a small smile. “Something mutually beneficial where you can help people - in a good way,” he said echoing her words.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“I wish it could but I’m afraid I’ve run out of time here as I’m overdue somewhere else, so I’ll have to be blunt –“

“What do you mean you’ve run out of time?” Eve asked, sitting up. “Are you saying you were supposed to have left already?”

“That’s none of your business,” Stafford said.

“No it isn’t,” Illyan said, watching her carefully, “but there’s no harm telling her. I was supposed to have come and gone a week ago.”

“So you’re not supposed to be here,” she asked with urgency. “These future plans thing. If you weren’t here, would anyone else be asking me the same thing? Could they?”

Illyan shook his head. “No, this is something only I could ask you. Why?”

Eve let out a laugh. She knew it. She’d felt it. A connection. With Illyan or with what he was about to ask her she didn’t know. But it was _now_. “Do you believe in fate, sir?”

Illyan didn’t hesitate. “I won’t lie to you. No, I don’t.”

“I do,” she said firmly. “My life doesn’t make sense otherwise. We were meant to meet. Don’t you see?  This was supposed to happen. Tell me exactly what you mean about my future.”

“A trial period of training which could eventually lead to you working for me and putting that valuable training of yours to good use. How does that sound?”

Eve grinned and told them not only how she'd unlocked the door but what else she’d done with the corporal’s stunner…

 

**Author's Note:**

> For ollipop who asked the question years ago.
> 
> This is set post BiA but before Memory
> 
> Eve has appeared in my other works but this is her origin story which I said I would write um...three years ago - better late than never :D. For more context please see (but not necessary) [Women of Barrayar (Not the Escobarran Book)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/586878)
> 
> Thanks to Gwynne for the beta read :) and oodles of thanks to Zoya1416 for the many beta reads and the *constant* back and forth and for kicking this off by reminding me that it was on my longgg list.


End file.
